, 1887-02-19
THE RAGPICKERS.
ONE ELEMENT OF THE PoPULA
TON OF A GREAT CITY.

Blue Blood Owners Of Horses and
Observation-Disclosures OF the Hand Cart.
Rninmagcrs of Morning and sight.
Life Near tho Dumps.
Ragpickers form II very important Gle
rent of the busy population of n great city
Ike Brooklyn, and q careful observation OF
their methods will reveal some curious and
interesting facts. They arc properly d-
vided into four distinct classes, each having
a separate field of notion and seldom in
fringing upon tho territory of the other divis-
ions Of the fraternity. The first class, who
could quite properly DO called the upper ten
OF ragpickerdom, includes the itincrant deal
ers who conduct their business by means Of
~dilapidated looking horses and wagons. They
would undoubtedly Indignantly resent their
classification with ordinary ragpickers, but
candor compels me to name them as such.
They pay an annual license fee of 20 for tho
privilege of buying the city's rubbish.
They pay q higher price for goods than
the men who propel the handcarts, and fire.
quently hire shops of their own for assort-
ment and storage Of their purchases. They
generally carry on a thriving business, md
from long experience and acquaintance
know where the choicest rags are found.
They have regular dates for calling on small
tailoring establishments In order to secure
inc cuttings anu trlIufnl1Hh WHICH uTD 700
small TO b. used by rug manufacturers.
They also get the pickings of small shirt
factories, printing houses, book binderies
and a score Of similar establishments.
THE HAND CART ARMY.
The second class comprises the army Of
hand cart dealers who can b, seen every
day pushing their trucks, adorned with
from one to a score OF motley shaped, sized
and toned bells, along in front of them.
They are avaricious in their dealings, man
age to live in moderate circumstances, and
are willing to purchase n number of articles
which most people classify as rubbish. But
what is rubbish TO some people-iron and
other metals, bones and old C rpets and a null
titude of similar articles-is thus bought by
the thousands OF pounds daily. This class
is always well posted III the tricks of the
trade, and have CERTAIN streets which they
nave drummed for years. By long expert
ence they learn which Of their customers
will sell his rags at any price, and which
will haggle with them over the last penny.
They often find unexpected treasures in
their purchases, and rarely return anything
valuable that thus comes within their clutch.
We now come to the third class of rag
pickers, who are by far the most aggressive
In their methods. / refer to the rummagerp
who are abroad early in the morning and
late at night, overhauling our ash cans and
ash barrels. They are mostly Italians, and
carry huge bags and a long iron hook, not
unlike u stove poker. They are numbered
by the thousands, are almost -unacquainted
with the laws and customs of this country,
live in the poorest class Of tenements, and
by the most stringent economy and indus
try manage to save up quite respectable
hank accounts. The inborn passions of the
Italian race are but little modified by our
.1t..ot. ~ lao ,,ptart x.tth .,,r .,. n
fatal ARRAYS arc OF frequent occurrence
among them. They are clannish, preserve
their national customs, subsist on the cheap
est food and endure privations and hard
ships that would kill nine out of ten of our
native population. This class take every
thing from ii barrel that their hooks will
drag forth-old boots, shoes, hats, rags,
fragments of carpet, bottles, corks, horse
hair, feathers, paper, wood, coal, cigar
stubs--indccd everything except ashes and
clinkers. Often the barrels of brown stone
fronts yield rich finds to these delivers.
A %rLETHoRIc BUNDLE.
Dnc day | saw II swarthy fellow stop be-
fore half a dozen barrels grouped on the
sidewalk before Il Clinton avenue house, and
haul forth article after article, among
which wcro the following: A Turkish rug,
which was not In shreds by any means, and
which und oubtedly saw subsequent service
in the finder's b~edchamber; an old hat
which was Immediately substituted for a
dilapidatcd cap On the finders head; old
shoes, rags and articles OF tin ware, which
were thrust into his roomy bag, aud an ap
PIE and u crust of bread, which, after n few
preliminary polishes on milord's soiled coat
sleeves, were ravenously devoured. He
had arrived at tbs spot with u bag having q
decidedly emaciatod appearance, but left
with Il plethoric bundle, under whose weight
he could hardly stagger.
Harvest time with all rag pickcrs comes
In the spring. For then 1t is that houses
ARE cleaned, families move, old carpets arc
thrown away, old garments are discarded
and thousands OF articles find their way to
the teeming ash barrel. Brooklyn pays about
$3.50, 900 annually for the removal of lis
ashes, and last year over 2GO, 600 loads we're
carted to the low lots which aboInd in
South Brooklyn and elsewhere It is hear
these dumps, in miserable novels, that the
last, but by no nsans the least, class of this
great family OF ragpickers dwell. They are
IN hletinies in the morning awaiting the ar
l ..vhl OF the ash carts like as many vultures
would await the coming OF prey, and no
carrion crows ever plunged their talons in
the carcass of "A dead COW with more vorac-
ity than these people settle down to a frouzy
examination Of the ash heaps. A person
would suppose that little remains in the
ashes after the rummaging Of the Italian
street pickers. But men, women and chill
lren by the hundreds work there with bag
and basket from sunrise to sunset. Old
coal s%cuttles, pots, kettles, pans, broken
crockery, hats, caps, bonncts, cast Off gar
ments, feathers, coal, wood and multitudes
of similar articles are taken to the lrders'
shanties and cleaned and repaired for per-
sonal use. Old metal, rags, paper, bones,
bottles, tin cans and scraps of tin, hair,
corks, bits of leather and rope are carried
away for assortment and sale. brooklyn
Eagle.